


Father's Day

by anakinleias



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-04-05 12:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4180497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anakinleias/pseuds/anakinleias
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time it happens, he doesn’t know how to react.</p><p> </p><p>Or: dates Mulder and Scully didn't get to celebrate with William.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Father's Day

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing except a crippling amount of debt in student loans.

The first time it happens, he doesn’t know how to react.

He has just come back from his first time venturing out on his own, buying the extra and heavier supplies that Scully couldn’t carry by herself when she went on the grocery run the previous day. She had been shifty and nervous all night after she returned, clutching the paper bag to her chest and mumbling about going upstairs and _if he could please put the stuff away_. She had come back an hour later, her shoulder-length hair newly dyed blonde, combing through the still-wet strands with her fingers and avoiding his eyes while busying herself in the kitchen of their new temporary home.

He trudges in, arms loaded with the remaining items on their shopping list; another couple jugs of milk, two frozen chickens, various meat cuts and three loaves of bread. They had discussed going into the city, agreeing that for the time being it would be best for her to do most of the shopping and he would go only when needed, to hoard most of their heavier necessities.

He's just finished putting away the last of the meat in the freezer when he spots the package; just one of the brown paper bags, folded and carefully taped to resemble wrapping paper, his name written on top with black marker in her neat handwriting.

He scratches at the tape to free a corner and slowly tears away the top of the paper, revealing… _a picture of a baseball?_ He rips the last of the brown wrapping and pulls out a square paper.

What he initially mistook for a picture is in fact a card, the baseball pattern turning out to be actually a tie, wrapped in plastic and draped over the cover. And a really ugly tie, at that. He pulls away the offending object, lifting it to his eye level. A horrendous thing, small black spots between the balls indicating that it had originally been black. And with baseballs all over it, beside each other, juxtaposing each other and an all-around pattern mess. He makes a face and puts it down on the table, opening the card with shaky hands as it dawns on him what the date is.

A big Darth Vader head graces the center of it, and a variation of the famous quote sits right under in bold black color: _YOU ARE MY FATHER – thanks for being a good one (I could have done a lot worse)._

He clears his throat a few times and swallows past the lump forming there, his eyes welling up as the realization washes over him: he is a dad. He is a dad and it is his first father’s day, and his son is gone.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first (published) work for this fandom, constructive criticism is very welcome. Thank you txf squad, Emily and Nadia for your kindness.


End file.
